THE RT HON THE BARONESS ASHTON OF UPHOLLAND

On Thursday 28 June 2007, Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced the appointment of Baroness Cathy Ashton of Upholland as the new Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Council.

Biography

Cathy Ashton was appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Constitutional Affairs on 9 September 2004 with responsibilities including the National Archives and the Public Guardianship Office.

Cathy was born in Upholland in Lancashire, from where she takes her title 'Baroness Ashton of Upholland'.

From 1983-89 she was Director of Business in the Community working with business to tackle inequality, and established the Employers' Forum on Disability, Opportunity Now, and the Windsor Fellowship.

Cathy chaired the Health Authority in Hertfordshire from 1998 to 2001, and her children's school governing body, and became a Vice President of the National Council for One Parent Families.

In 1999 she was given a life peerage. She became an Education Minister in 2001. In 2005 she was voted House Magazine Minister of the Year and Channel 4 Peer of the Year. In 2006, she was voted Stonewall Politician of the Year. She became a Privy Councillor in May 2006.